Carriage



(No Model.) 2 SheetS- S heet 1.

KW WORTH. 0 R AGE.-

No. 430,450. Patented June 17, 1890.

. WITNESSES: mmvroa q ATTORNEY.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet; 2.

H. WADSWOR'TH. CARRIAGE.

No. 430,450. Patented June 17, 1890.

a perspective view of the same.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERBERT \VADSIVORTH, OF AVON, NEW YORK.

CARRIAGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 430,450, dated June 17, 1890..

' Application filed May 5, 1890. Serial No. 350,653. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HERBERT WADsWoRrH, of Avon, in the county of Livingston and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Carriages or Wagons, of which the following is a specification.

My improvements are designed to provide a wagon or buggy body which, with minimum width of floor in front of the seat, shall be comfortable and roomy as to its seating capacity and shall alford very complete protection against the weather. It is desirable to have as large wheels as possible, in order to insure easy draft and diminution of shocks arising from inequalities in the road. It is equally desirable to have as much turn-under as possible for the front wheels, in order to afford safety when the horses shy and toy make it possible to turn in narrow places. It is also desirable to be protected from the falling rain, as well as from the mud which may be thrown by the wheels. It is further desirable to have as much space as possible about the elbows when the carriage-top is raised, so that the driver may be free to handle his reins and his whip. These ends are attained conveniently and efficiently by the construction and arrangement of the various parts of the wagon-body, which I will now proceed to describe by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which I- have represented so much of awagon or buggy as needed for the purpose of illustrating and explaining my improvements.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a buggy or wagon body constructed in accordance with myinvention and with its folding top raised. In this figure the boot is removed, so as not to obscure the front portion of the wagon-body. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the wagon-body with the boot raised and with the folding top removed. Fig. 3 is Fig. 4 is a plan of the body with the bows of the boot divested of their water proof cover and lowered. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the wagon-body with both its top and the boot raised, the latter having a rain-apron at top for the purpose of better protecting the occupant from the weather.

The fioor A of the wagon or buggy in front of the seat, and indeed for that portion of the length of the wagon-body opposite which the front wheels will come, in turning the wagon,

is comparatively narrow, as shown, and is surrounded as to that part of it which is in front of the seat bya narrow low rim a, which will offer no obstacle to one getting in or out of the wagon. The portion of the body in rear of the seat need not be as narrow as the front portion A. There is no reason, indeed, why this rear portion should not be as wide as the wheel-gage will allow andbe provided with sides as high as the seat.

From the sides of the floor rise vertical supports b for the seat B, which. extends laterally on each side beyond these supports sufficiently to accommodate easily two persons.

The seat at its ends is bounded by upright or approximately upright sides 0. These may be of such height as the judgment of the builder may dictate. From the top of the sides 0 extend laterally horizontal pieces 0, which overhang the wheels and form at once armrests and mud-guards. Supporting-brackets (I may be provided for the parts 0 and the outwardly-projecting portions of the seat B. To the outer side edges of the combined armrests and mud-guards O are affixedin any usual way the braces or bows of the buggy or wagon top D. This top is one that can be raised or lowered in the same way asthe ordinary bugg top. It is provided with the customary waterproof cloth cover upon the outside of the bows or braces and in no essential respect need vary from the ordinary folding buggy-top, save that it is attached to the outside of the combined arm-rests and mud-guards G. The top thus has considerably greater width than the ordinary buggy-top, which width would allow rain to be very freely carried into the vehicle by the wind unless some means of prevention were provided; and to this end I provide return side screens or rain-guards e, which narrow the opening when the top is raised, these screens being of a width equal to the width of the parts 0, and being attached at their outer edges and upper ends to the buggy-top and at their lower ends to the front edges of the parts 0, as shown. When the top is down, these screens lie practically flat upon the arm rests and mudguards C. By this arrangement when the top is up there is ample arm and elbow room afforded at each side of the vehicle for the occupants, while the space thus provided is inclosed and shielded. from the weather.

The ordinary leg and lap covering used in vehicles is a water-proof fly of some pliable water-proof material attached to the lower part of the dash-board and adapted to be folded up and secured there when not in use. The device is uncomfortable and inconvenient on many accounts. It does not effectively exclude the wind and weather. WVhen unfolded and in use, it is not easily removable from over the legs, and it is apt to come in contact with the knees or other parts of the person with resulting inconvenience. For this appliance I substitute a collapsible boot substantially similar to a buggy or wagon top in its general constructionthat is to say, similar in that it is made up of hinged folding bows with. an external cover of water-proof cloth or like pliable material secured thereto.

A boot of the construction which I prefer to employ and which in practice gives excellent results is represented in the drawings. The first bow f of this boot is at its lower ends hinged to the exterior of the floor at the side of the buggy-body at a point near the vertical parts of that body which support the seat and rises to the level of the arm or elbow rests O. The shape of this bow will of course vary with the conformation of the buggy-body to which it may be applied. In the present instance, inasmuch as the seat of the buggy is considerably wider than-the floor, the bow f flares outwardly from its base, so that at its top it is substantially as wide as the seat. The second bow g is hinged to the first one f at about midway of the length of the legs of the latter, and preferably upon the exterior of these legs, as shown. It has a flare corresponding to that of bow j, and is sufficiently larger than the latter to permit the two to nest when the boot is collapsed and folded down. The third bow h springs from hinges upon the exterior of the wagon-body, located in a plane below that in which the-hinges of the bow f lie. All of these bows are of such length and other dimensions that when folded down they will be outside of the floor A and will fold flat down around its exterior and by metallic or other suitable arms 1', which.

extend back under and are fastened to the bottom of the Wagon-body. These bows, which are of such size as to pass free from the knees 3' of the occupant of the bugg are covered with some such water-proof pliable material as is customarily used in covering buggy-tops,

the front end of this cover being secured to the front end of the floor of the wagon-body. Bow f should be provided with flanges 011 its sides to enable it to close up against the uprights below the seat and along the front edges of the sides of the seat, which flange, when the boot is collapsed and folded down, will overlap the edges of the floor, so as to prevent mud and dust from entering the folds of the boot-covering. The bow f also is provided along its top with a rain apron or flap 7a, about fourteen inches Wide and of a length to extend between the rain guards or screens. This flap can be secured to the rain-guards by buttoning or otherwise, and has formed in it a rain hole or slit Z.

The boot can be kept in its raised position by any suitable means, preferably by springlatches or the like, so that it may be let down at a moments notice.

Having now described my improvements and the manner in which the same are or may be carried into effect,vwhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A buggy or wagon body provided with a seat extending laterally beyond each of its sides, combined arm-rests and mud-guards extending laterally and outwardly from the tops of the sides of the seat, and a top secured to the outer edges of the combined arm-rests and mud-guards, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore described.

2. A buggy or wagon body provided with a seat B, extending laterally beyond its side, combined arm-rests and mud-guards G, extending laterally beyond the ends or sides 0 of the seat, a top D, secured to the outer side edges of the parts 0, and rain screens or guards e, shielding or covering in front that portion of the interior space of the raised top which is provided by the laterally-extended parts C, as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

3. In combination with a buggy or wagon body, a front boot or leg covering comprising hinged bows and a pliable cover therefor secured to the floor or base of the body and adapted to be bodily folded and unfolded, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

l. A buggy or wagon body provided with a front boot or leg covering, consisting of a pliable cover and internal supporting bows therefor, which are hinged upon the exterior of the sides of the buggy-body and are arranged and adapted to fold down around the exterior of the part of the buggy-body which is in advance of the 'seat, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.

5. A buggy-body having a dash-board placed in advance of the body, so as to leave between it and the body a space for reception of the boot, in combination with a boot consisting of a pliable cover and internal supportingbows therefor, which are hinged upon the exterior of the sides of the buggy-body and are adapted to fold down around the-sides of the IIO body and into the space between the body and the dash-board,substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

6. In combination with a bu gg'y-body, a leg, boot, or covering consisting of a pliable cover and supporting-bows f g h, of which bows f and h are hinged to the exterior of the sides of the body and bow g is hinged to the legs of bow f about midway of their length, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

7. A buggy or wagon body having the laterally-projecting seat B, the mud-guards and arm-rests C, projecting outwardly from the tops of the sides or ends 0 of the seat, the 

